


lover, tell me

by noneislefttoprotest



Series: a curse and a family [2]
Category: The Key to Cygnus (Webcomic)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, HEAVY SPOILERS FOR ALL OF THE KEY TO CYGNUS, Mild Sexual Content, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, as with the whole of this series, cygnus wedding traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:48:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29447289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noneislefttoprotest/pseuds/noneislefttoprotest
Summary: "When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married!"- Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene III
Relationships: Gretchen Finch/Cassiopeia (The Key to Cygnus)
Series: a curse and a family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161854
Kudos: 1





	lover, tell me

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "wedding song", from hadestown

Gretchen had been looking up at the moon for hours. She wasn’t sure if this was a sorcerer thing, or just a her thing, but looking at her always calmed her down. It probably worked like some sort of prayer, like the ones Eliza taught her. Either that, or the familiar and comforting sound of the waves crashing against the rocky shore.

She was getting married  _ tomorrow _ . That would be a terrifying thought to a younger Gretchen, and, to be honest, it still kind of was - although not for the same reasons. The day she confessed to Cassie felt like it was yesterday, and also a thousand years ago. Time feels weird when you’re an immortal.

It had actually been a little over a century. A century of a lot of nagging from their family to just get married already. Gretchen didn’t understand why - they were already together for the rest of eternity anyway - but the ceremony was important to Cassie, and it would just be a bit of an inconvenience anyway.

Well. Her current bruises proved her  _ way _ wrong.

According to Cygnus tradition, she had to propose by  _ fighting _ someone for Cassie’s hand. The only person up for the task was her brother, Nathan. Having recently finished her training did give Gretchen a fighting chance, but she had  _ nothing  _ on his century - millennia, probably - of practice.

Besides… she  _ probably _ shouldn’t have bullied him so much back when she was his boss.

He absolutely wiped the floor with her on the first try. The rules dictated the second “proposal” should be a month after, and she took that time to heal - she absolutely couldn’t get up to his level with only one month of training, and besides, she knew he also wanted them to get married. Still not enough to stop Nathan from beating her up when he had the opportunity to, apparently.

He let her win the second time… but it was only now, a week later, that she was finally feeling whole enough to have the party. 

She heard footsteps behind her on the porch. When she looked, she saw Reginald in sleep clothes, and he lifted his hand as a greeting.

“Getting cold feet?”

“Ha. As if.” she snarked while he leaned on the railing next to her. “If I were to bail out, it would’ve been sometime last week.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

“I don’t remember  _ you _ getting your ass kicked.”

Reggie looked a bit awkward. “I… didn’t. Technically, I still owe  _ someone _ a challenge. She didn't have anyone ‘responsible’ to defend her honor.”

Gretchen looked at him, mouth open in surprise. “That’s so unfair? I better be there when someone shows up, you lucky bastard.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the first one invited.” he grinned. “But it won’t be a battle, you know that.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you too, little sister.”

Gretchen rolled her eyes fondly, and turned them back to the moon.

After a few minutes of silence, she sighed.

“Was it also this terrifying for you?”

“Oh, absolutely.” he answered with no hesitation. “It didn’t make a difference, but the ceremony itself is… There’s a lot of importance put on it, is what I mean. It’s okay to be nervous.”

“You suck at advice.” she sighed again. “But that’s… exactly it. It’s not gonna make a difference! And yet I’m super anxious, and I don’t know why. Not like she’d leave me or anything.”

“Yeah. You’re here because you can’t sleep, I assume?”

“Yup. Cass is staying in Ophiuchus for the night, I think I’m too used to sleeping next to her.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Yeah, shut up.” she retorted with no venom in her voice. “It sucks that I’m getting married for eternity and most of our family isn’t even here.”

“To be fair, you were my only guest at mine.”

“But you were all sad back then. I'm cooler.”

“Right.” he answered in the same teasing tone. “They’ll learn eventually, right? When we make our way to 2018, or whenever that was.”

“Give or take some 300 years, yeah. Not a lot of time to wait.”

He hummed. In the past century, they had learned to occupy the same space without needing to - no talking about responsibilities, no bickering, just idle chatter and sometimes silence. It was a skill she had mastered with Altair, but over half a decade serving as Reginald's second in command had turned their relationship into a very professional one, and they did the work to make it more personal.

Hence why she felt comfortable enough to ask him questions about her wedding. And then, instead of bickering more, they stayed quiet, and listened to the sounds of the high tides until they both got tired enough to retire to their own quarters.

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

  
  


"Wakey wakey, it's your big day!" was the first thing Gretchen heard the next morning, and she promptly hid her face under the covers.

"It's too earlyyy…"

"No it's not!" - and this voice was different from the other one. She suddenly wondered who had taken it upon themselves to be her wedding party. Since her and Cass thought it was unfair to split their family like that, they could pick the bride they would help themselves.

She peeked. The one gently shaking her was Eliza, the one with a smug look on her face and holding a basin was Margareth, and Frankie and Aquila were standing near the closet, checking if her dress was in proper shape.

Yeah, she could've predicted this would be her wedding party.

"What's that face for, princess?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Are you going to throw that at me?"

"No." Eliza answered, with a warning glare to Marge. "That's for you to wash your face. Whatever Marge wants to do to get back at you is not going to involve water on your bed."

"Aw, c'mon." Gretchen argued, sitting up properly. "Either of us could clean that up quickly."

"It's too early, don't worry." Margareth winked at her. "Here, wash your stinky face."

"You're stinky."

"No, you."

Eliza sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, but Gretchen could see she was smiling. "For just a second, I forgot you two argue like small children."

"Well, but you love us."

"I do, I do."

After she freshened herself up, she put the basin on the side table. It was immediately replaced on her lap with a tray filled with food.

"Good morning, auntie." Frankie greeted, sitting at her right side.

"Good morning, auntie." Aquila greeted, sitting at her left side.

"Good morning, creepy kids from The Shining." Gretchen greeted, biting a piece of bread.

Frankie looked confused.

"It's a thing from the future." her cousin supplied.

"Hmm. So what do the four of you have planned for me today?"

"Well, first of all, you have to take a nice bath so you're smelling all fresh and nice for your wife." Aquila started, counting on her fingers.

"Second of all, I need to know if you want coffee or tea." Margareth said, standing at the door where Hatyssa had shown up. Gretchen waved at her.

"Tea, please."

"Okay. Good luck with the prep!" Hatyssa called, giving her wife a quick peck on the lips as she left.

"Third of all," Eliza continued, "we have to do your hair."

"And that'll take a thousand years." Marge quipped.

"Shut up, I moisturized it yesterday." 

"Then, we have to put you on your dress, and then  _ we _ have to get dressed up, so you'll be going through the motions and greeting guests with dad." Frankie completed. 

"Guests?" Gretchen asked through a mouthful of biscuits, looking at Eliza. "Wasn't everyone who was coming supposed to be here already?"

"Don't look at me, I haven't done anything." she raised her hands.

Gretchen stared at Marge. Her third eye wasn't lying as well as the rest of her face.

"Well, more people can never be too bad. Most of the pieces of shit are already dead, right?"

Eliza made a face, but said nothing. Hatyssa came back with her tea.

"Thanks, Hatys. Tell your wife to stop lying to me, because I can tell."

She smiled. "I could, but she just wouldn't listen." she looked down at said wife, petting her hair. The way they looked at each other was unbearably sweet, which reminded her - Gretchen dumped three spoonfuls of sugar on her tea, and the former princess sitting at the foot of her bed scoffed.

"That's disgusting."

"Mind your own business." she snarked back, as was custom.

They chatted for a while longer as Gretchen finished her breakfast, and her older niece took the tray back to the kitchen.

"So, I'm supposed to take a bath now?"

"I'll prepare it for you." Eliza said, and Gretchen realized the purpose of the little satchel she was wearing. "Stay here for a second, okay?" she kissed her forehead before leaving.

The bride leaned her head against Frankie's shoulder. "I'm gonna be so tired."

"Nah, you're not." her niece bumped her head against hers. "You're gonna be right back up as soon as you take that bath, I'm telling you."

"If you say so. Who's helping around with Cass?"

"Uhh, Nathan, Andy, Rigel, Serena and Jonathan." Margareth answered after a bit of thinking. Aquila walked in while she was saying it, and confirmed the statement.

"Dad wasn't happy about waking up so early, I think they may have just swapped places with her." 

"Ha, classic Andy. How's Grace, by the way?"

Aquila shrugged. "I've been going on trips by myself lately, but their relationship seems to be going well. Did you know they've been married for seven years already?"

"By the gods." she sighed. "Time moves fast."

"Yeah. But also… very slow."

Margareth nodded. Gretchen elbowed Frankie.

"Check this out, Frank, the Void sorcerers are flexing on us over there."

She laughed. "Ooh, time is meaningless, it's all relative, ooh." she mocked, and the two not-Void sorcerers laughed.

"That's  _ so _ not it!" Aquila argued.

"Yeah! It's not that it's  _ meaningless _ , it's just that it's… uh… very malleable?" Marge tried to explain, with some hand gestures that not even she seemed to understand.

"Right, right, that makes  _ more _ sense." Gretchen smirked.

"Aw, fuck off."

"Love you too, princess."

Eliza peeked her head out from the bathroom. "It's ready, you can come."

Gretchen stretched, and threw the covers over a helpless Frankie. She started undressing on her way to the bathroom - being nude in front of others had never been a problem for her, although both her nieces shrieked. When she looked back, they had their eyes covered and Margareth was simply looking away - but her third eye  _ always _ betrayed her. She winked, and walked into the bathroom, where Eliza was waiting with her arms crossed.

"You never grow up, do you." she asked fondly.

"Nah. What did you put in this? It smells so good."

"The smell is mostly lavender, but there's some other plant infusions in there."

"Aw, you're making me feel spoiled."

"No, you deserve it."

She stepped into the warm water, and relaxed as she laid down in the tub, taking care to place her hair outside of it.

"Is it good?"

"Mm-hmm. Thanks 'Liza."

"If you need anything, just call me." she smiled warmly.

She slid down until the water was over her mouth, closed her eyes and soaked.

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

_ “I think we should get married.” _

_ Gretchen let out a laugh. Then she looked at her girlfriend’s face, and realized she was serious. _

_ “Wait- really?” _

_ Cass smiled. “Yeah, I’m not joking.” _

_ “But- We’re already immortal, and we’re gonna be together for the rest of eternity anyway?” she said, her confusion turning the sentence into a question. _

_ “Yeah, I know.” Cass conceded. “But it’s… important to me.” _

_ “Ah. Like, white dress and all that?” _

_ She laughed. “No, dummy. Like a Cygnus wedding.” _

_ “Ahhh.” Gretchen laughed at her own moment of stupidity. “What does that entail?” _

_ “Does that mean you’re agreeing to it?” _

_ “Yeah, why not. Again, together for the rest of time, and all that. It’s just a ceremony, right?” _

_ “Uhh, sure.” Cass shrugged. Gretchen felt something else in that comment, and looked at her. _

_ “What else is there?” _

_ “Uh… the wedding itself is just a nice banquet, you know, a party. The engagement…” _

_ “Isn’t it just… this?” _

_ “Well… You have to battle someone for my honor. In my case, it’s my brother.” _

_ “Pff. Easy.” _

_ “He’s a Void sorcerer, Gretch. It’s not a battle of strengths, you know? Well. Because I’m sun, it has to be a  _ physical _ challenge, but because you’re also magic, it can be magical.” _

_ “Meh, I can beat that twerp whenever, with magic or not.” _

_ Cass rolled her eyes, then rolled over on the bed, hovering over her. “Whatever you say, babe. You already agreed anyway.” _

_ Gretchen laughed, and pulled her fiancée's face back to hers. _

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

“Should we braid something into it?”

“It’s just going to wilt - give me that.”

“Noo, we can do magic on the flowers!”

“Alasia, don’t fight with your cousin. Let Gretchen choose what goes on her hair, okay?”

While the younger girls fought, Margareth held Gretchen’s mass of hair in different ways in front of the mirror. “How much do you want to tie it?”

“Eh, if you could leave it mostly untied?”

“Sure, yeah. How about a bun, here, at the top?”

“Looks a bit off.”

“We could braid the sides?”

“I don’t… hate that.”

“Ooh, ooh, what if you braid this bit at the top, and tie it back?” Frankie gestured. “Then we can put a flower crown here!”

“What  _ is _ it with you and flowers?”

“Listen.” she turned to her cousin. “It’s really important.”

Margareth scrunched her nose. "I don't think a flower crown, but like… A flower headband, doesn't go fully around her head, you know?"

Gretchen shrugged. "That's fine by me. I really liked the idea of the braids on the side, though."

"That's fine, we can do both. Okay! One of you, grab the ribbon, and someone else part her hair for braiding."

It took some pulling, some combing, and a lot of hands at the same time, but at the end of it Gretchen's hair looked like it was cascading from the top of her head and off of the braids. She shook her head a little.

"Wow, it really stays."

"Thank your texture." Marge commented from the bed. "It'll hold as long as you don't touch water, probably."

"'Probably'?"

"I don't know, my hair is like one third as curly as yours. I'm betting here."

Eliza clapped her hands twice.

"Gretchen. Time for your dress."

This felt like the now or never. 

"Turn around, any of you that don't want to see me naked."

"Oh,  _ this time _ there's a warning." she heard Aquila mutter.

Eliza held it in front of her. She was the only person she trusted to tie the top part of the dress in a way that would look… good. Properly Greek.

Gretchen stepped into the skirt portion, and held it in place as Eliza tied the back and cape-like part in place with a brooch that looked very old and traditional - for Cygnus, that is: silver and shaped like the moon and some extra details on it. She also tied the waist ribbon behind her, tugging to make sure it wasn't uncomfortable.

Gretchen twirled. "The short skirt was  _ definitely  _ a good call."

"You can look now, girls." Eliza called, tenderness coating her voice.

There was a brief moment of silent admiration.

"...What is it?"

"Nothing, you just…"

"...Reeally look like a bride, now." Aquila completed Margareth's phrase.

"Don't… say that stuff." Gretchen ordered. "I don't want to cry."

"Oh, you will." Eliza said, with certainty. "You think Cassie is not going to look just as beautiful?"

"Nah." she replied, looking at herself in the mirror. "She's gonna be more."

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

"Look  _ up _ , Cass, not at me."

"Sorry, sorry. It just tickles."

"Well, that's makeup for you." Nathan commented, wiping away a bit of stray mascara. "There, now you're good."

Cassiopeia looked at herself in the mirror, appreciating her brother's makeup skills. "Yeah, you're good at this. Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for." he swished the bottle and it vanished into thin air.

Serena clapped her hands. "Sweetheart, you look so beautiful! Twirl for me, come on." she grabbed her hand and twirled her in a dance move. "Oh, it's been so long since a wedding! I missed all of this."

"It's been less than ten years." her husband piped up. "Andy and Grace, remember?"

Andy raised a thumbs up from the bed.

"I know, honey, but it's just not the same! I mean, it's  _ our _ little Cassie!"

"Guys, come on." the bride herself interrupted. "You're acting like I'm a child. I'm older than both of you."

"We're just happy you and Gretchen are finally doing this." Jonathan clarified. "Weddings are always a good time either way, especially when it's someone you love getting married."

Before she could answer, the door was pushed open by a familiar brothel manager. "I leave for  _ five _ minutes and you guys are getting sappy already?" Without waiting for an answer, Rigel lifted the tray he was carrying. "I brought the shots!"

"I wonder if they have shots over at her side." Cassie commented, picking up her shot.

"It's Gretchen, right? They must have." Rigel replied. "Andy, come get yours."

The person in question got up and looked up at Cassie's face. "Whoa, great job on the makeup, Nat. Really goes with my flowers."

"She looks beautiful, guys. We all did a wonderful job getting her all dolled up." Serena raised her glass. "To Cassie and Gretchen!"

"To Cassie and Gretchen!"

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

"I'm not letting you touch alcohol, Gretch."

"Reggie. Reginald. It's  _ my _ wedding."

The older brother grinned. "Nope. Only at the reception."

(They didn't immediately start bickering, of course. When Reggie saw his little sister looking like a bride, he teared up - because that's just how he is nowadays.)

"Come on. You have guests to greet."

"Oh, I'm finally finding out who these surprise guests are- Holy shit,  _ Selene _ ?"

The entire crew of their ship was there - over a dozen women milling about, helping with the decorations, talking to people as they set up the banquet table. Isabella waved from where she was holding an end of the string of decorations that Rhea was tying to the top of a tree. Gretchen immediately went for a big bro hug with Selene.

"Yeah! We couldn't miss you two  _ finally _ getting hitched, could we?"

"Shit, that's a  _ good _ surprise. It's great to see you again. Uh, Cass is over at the sun island, if you wanna see her-"

"Nah, we're helping out with setting this whole thing up." Isa said, coming over to where they were and hugging the bride-to-be. "You look so beautiful!"

"Thanks! Your cousin helped me out. It's been a bit since we've all been together, huh?"

Selene thought for a second. "Was it at Marge’s wedding?"

"Andy’s wedding, dear."

"Oh, that's right. Yeah, it's been a while. Hopping from wedding to wedding, huh?"

They talked more, and the wedding party one by one came down, mingling more with all the guests and helping set up the final touches.

When Gretchen saw Andy and Nathan, it took her a second to realize what that meant - until she was grabbed from behind by a pair of familiar arms.

"You look gorgeous." Cassie's voice whispered in her ear, and kissed her on the cheek. Gretchen turned around in her fiancée's arms and took a proper look at her. Even after all these years, she was taken aback by her beauty. She had flowers similar to those in her own flower crown braided into her hair, and her makeup was simple but striking. She wore a loose shirt tucked into a skirt that went down to her mid-calf, just a bit longer than Gretchen's own dress.

"You're more." she said, and kissed her.

"Get away from each other, you two!" Frankie screamed from a few meters away. "Mom's gonna begin the ceremony!"

"Go to  _ your _ place, dumbass!" Gretchen yelled back. "I  _ guess _ we kinda have to be apart until Eliza marries us." she said in a normal volume at Cass.

"It's not gonna take too long."

"Hmm, I hope so. Love you." she pecked her on the lips.

"Love you more." she smiled, and let her go.

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

So there they stood; the two of them under the wedding arch, Eliza between them and their family standing around them. The sun was an hour away from setting, and the sound of the waves provided a relaxing background for the ceremony. They were getting married on the south beach of the main island - the same place where Gretchen confessed her feelings so many years ago.

"Dearest family and loved ones." Eliza started. "Today is the day when Gretchen and Cassiopeia  _ finally _ get married, after we've all been waiting for  _ literal decades _ ." she paused while the guests chuckled. "I think we can all agree we couldn't be happier that these two found their happiness in each other. Marriage is a bond of unity, it's about understanding and helping each other. It's about companionship, and sticking by each other's side no matter what. And as we can all agree, the two of you are spectacular at it.

"Watching your journey to this point has meant witnessing Cassie's patience and Gretchen's selflessness: both qualities one wouldn't immediately ascribe to you. You bring out the best in each other, in your similarities and in your faults. And as wives, you'll be even better at it, I'm sure.

"With that said, would you like to start with the vows, Cass?"

She smiled, and took a deep breath.

"Gretchen. I can't possibly explain in words how much you mean to me, but I guess I can try. Getting to know you and realizing how caring, brilliant and sweet you are beyond your handsome looks was the best thing I could've done, and waiting until you realized it was worth it. Being by your side this last century hasn't made me tired of you - in fact, I just love you more. I'll forever be thankful to the gods that they gave me you, a person who's so caring and selfless that she's willing to get her ass kicked by my brother just to marry me. All that just to say… I love you, and I can't wait to spend the rest of eternity with you."

During the speech, Gretchen started to feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Shit, I didn't think I would cry." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Okay, my turn. Cassie, you're all the happiness I never thought I deserved all combined in one person. I can't imagine ever not starting and ending every day with you. Loving you is the easiest thing I ever did, and I'm so thankful you had the patience to wait until I was ready for it to be all out in the open. You complete a part of me that I didn't even know was missing. You make me so happy just by existing, and… I'm not that good with words, but I just love you so much."

They didn't take their eyes away from each other when Eliza asked them to swap their sorcerer necklaces. Cassie put hers on Gretchen first, having some difficulty to get past her hair, and then Gretchen put hers. They - literally, now - owned a part of each other's soul.

And as the sun set, Eliza pronounced, quietly, just as moved as everyone else watching the ceremony:

"You may now kiss the bride."

And they did.

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

The party began when Gretchen popped champagne and drank straight from the bottle, passing it to her wife as guests cheered. 

The groups split and sat down at the tables set around the beach, serving themselves with the food available, chattering over the soft music being played. The brides had a table all for themselves, which was probably good - they couldn’t take their eyes off of each other.

“You gonna stare at me instead of eating?” Cassie asked, tenderly.

“Yea.”

Gretchen had her head resting on one hand, and the other was over Cass’ hand. Her food sat untouched on her plate.

“Aw, that won’t do. Come here.” Cassie scooped some food from her wife’s plate with her own fork and fed it to her. Gretchen made a pleased sound, and she paused.

“Is  _ that _ what you wanted?”

Gretchen nodded.

“You’re impossible.” Cassie said lovingly, as she fed her wife another bite.

The food was good, and the wine was even better. Slowly, guests got up to dance with their loved ones - significant others, siblings, cousins, friends - and the party itself got started.

The newlyweds danced with each other first, of course - dancing on sand was a bit of a challenge, but they didn’t mind stumbling, not in each other’s arms.

“Gods, it’s still setting in.” Gretchen commented, airily.

“The alcohol?”

“No, dummy.” she laughed. “We’re  _ married _ . Like, holy shit, you know?”

Her wife smiled cheekily, and pulled her closer. “I know! You’re my  _ wife _ now. Gonna tell everyone I have the best wife in the world.”

“Someone might sword fight you for their wife’s honor if you say that. There’s people  _ here _ who would fight you.”

“Eh, let them. I can win.”

“Yeah, you can. I can’t believe you’re looking butcher than me at our wedding.”

“You’re the one that picked a dress!” she paused, looking her over. “Could be shorter, though.”

Gretchen squeezed her ass. “Tease.”

“That’s for later, babe.”

“Uh, is this a bad moment?” said a different voice. Reginald stood awkwardly about a meter away from them, one hand behind his back and one pulled at his waist.

“For what?” Gretchen asked.

“Well, if you’ll allow me, Cass,” he tilted his head. “I’d like a dance with my little sister.”

“Oh, of course!” Cass responded, while her wife exclaimed “ _ ‘Allow’!? _ ”

“Don’t overthink it, babe.” she whispered in Gretchen's ear, before handing her off to Reggie.

"So, how are you feeling now?" he asked her.

"Well, I'm less anxious. But like, super over the moon." she sighed. "It happened! I'm married!"

"I'm glad you're happy, Gretch." he said, softly. "You deserve this."

"Yeah… this is such a good day, you know? Surrounded by the people I love, I got to do something that's important for Cass, everyone's having fun… I couldn't hope for a better wedding."

The implication that  _ it could, actually _ went unsaid. They had already not only talked about it, but come to terms with it too. It wasn't easy, but it was something the two of them went through together.

"They would be proud of you, too."

"I know… I can't  _ wait _ to tell them. But I’m glad you’re here, more than I'm upset they’re not."

His expression softened. “I can’t say that I ever imagined I’d live to see the day you got married.”

“Me either.”

Suddenly, the clinking of a spoon tapping against a glass rang out, and everyone turned their heads to the sound: one Margareth Elizabeth Rose, looking like she had a few drinks in her already, and a shit eating grin on her face.

“Esteemed guests! I’d like to give a speech, to honor our beloved brides.”

Reggie patted her back, smiling. “Time for retribution.”

“Oh, god damn it.”

“As someone who witnessed… a lot of their love story. I can attest for how  _ long  _ it’s been going on. And how absolutely oblivious they’ve been! I mean, probably not Cass, everyone knew for  _ years _ how she was in love with Gretch… except for Gretch. And it's not as if she was being subtle - this  _ one _ time they came to stay over, and Cassie asked my help to make Gretchen breakfast in bed because it was her birthday, when not even Gretch remembered it was her birthday! And she  _ still didn't realize it _ . Honestly, if you'd seen how they looked at each other even when I first met them… I was surprised when Gretch came to ask me for advice on confessing to her! I thought, well, surely it's been years,  _ someone _ has to have made a move, right? But no, Gretchen was too cold hearted, no, too  _ dumb _ to realize how she'd been torturing poor Cassie, who simply didn't want to tell her until she was able to handle it."

Gretchen felt her face burning.  _ Well, I suppose it's earned _ , the rational part of her mind said. The emotional part was driving her body on its way to strangle the former princess.

"All that to say - I'm very glad you finally tied the knot and it's great that you're so in love and can someone hold Gretch before she attacks me?"

"Oh, no you don't." the bride in question exclaimed as she put Marge in a headlock and rubbed her knuckles against her scalp as she squealed.

"That is for the slaps from my speech, princess." she said when releasing her. "You suck."

"You did it first!"

Their respective wives had shown up at this point, Hatyssa taking Margareth's half-full wine glass away from her and Cassie gently pulling Gretchen from the situation, as the two still bickered - in a friendly manner, of course - at a distance.

"It was all in good fun, but you gotta admit that the dumb comment was uncalled for!"

"And why is that, love?"

"Because I… am  _ not _ dumb." Gretchen announced, proudly.

"Uh huh. What do you call those three years after I left the brothel?"

"I was… dealing with things."

"And what do you call falling for your friend with benefits?"

"I call that… A mistake I couldn't be happier we both made." Gretchen answered, smiling.

"Hmm, good answer." Cass muttered against her lips.

"Aunt Gretchen! Aunt Cassie!"

"Can we not have  _ one _ moment of peace?" Gretchen playfully scolded her array of niblings.

"Come do shots with us!"

Gretchen looked over at their table.

"Do you ever forget they grew up?" she whispered to her wife.

"All the time." Cass whispered back. "We're going!" she called out, grabbing Gretchen's hand.

After a round of shots for each one - eight rounds in total, plus extras from Kastor, who only had one - they were properly drunk and having… probably too much fun. Gretchen was pretty sure she remembered Cassie holding Pollux on her shoulders like she did when he was a toddler… except now he was a (short, but still) fully grown adult. Gretchen danced with all of the kids and  _ then _ some, and the party kind of became a blur. She remembered some kind hearted people giving her water cups and more dancing, but the next thing on her memory was crashing next to her wife, sitting on the sand, when most people were already leaving. Eliza stopped by them earlier, to give each of them a kiss on the forehead and say how much she loves them, and now Gretchen was just leaning against Cassie, nuzzling against her neck and inhaling the intoxicating smell of  _ her _ .

"I think I've been away from you for too long."

"Babe, it has not even been an hour." Cassie said, giggling.

"I knoow. I missed you. I love you. I want you." she whispered, between kisses that went up from Cassie's neck to her mouth.

She hummed. "So let's go, then?"

"You're gonna have to help me walk, I'm a bit dizzy already."

Cass grinned. "I'll help you walk now so you can't tomorrow."

Gretchen bit her lip and grinned back at her. "Oh, I'd hope so."

They had a lot of practice getting dirty after partying for hours, after all.

As a honeymoon, they would sail away on the boat they built with their own hands - but not tonight. Tonight was their last night on the islands, but their first as wives.

It still felt unbelievable.

Gretchen tripped on her skirt, and Cassie held her, carefully. They were both stumbling and laughing.

"Don't let me fall down the stairs, we  _ just _ finished that fuckin' boat!" she said in a louder volume than necessary. Before she could notice anything else, her wife was pushing her against the wall opposite to where their bedroom was. Gretchen wrapped her arms around Cassie's shoulders.

"Shhh, don't be too loud." Cass said, teasing. "There's people trying to sleep, you know."

"Ha, as if  _ you _ can be quiet." 

She raised an eyebrow, and kissed her passionately. Gretchen was definitely too drunk, because she had to stifle a moan just from that.

"What was that about being quiet?" Cassie muttered against her lips, with the tone of voice that drove her crazy. As retaliation, Gretchen kissed her way down her jaw, down her neck, and back up to a point just behind her ear. She put her lips there and sucked, and Cassie groaned from that.

"Hmm, seems like we're tied here."

“Ugh, if only.” Gretchen muttered.

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Do you wanna?”

“I can’t think right now. Kiss me.”

She just hummed in agreement. Cassie kissed her on the lips, down her neck, all the way down to her exposed shoulder. She unclasped the brooch, and Gretchen made a noise.

"Still in the hallway!"

"Oh, right." She simply hoisted her wife up by the thighs and brought both of them to the bedroom. In a show of very good teamwork, they managed to close the door only with Gretchen's foot and Cassie's hip. Then, instead of unceremoniously dumping her on the bed as usual, Cass lowered herself down until she was kneeling between Gretchen's legs in front of the bed.

"Hmm, special treatment, huh?"

"Not for long, babe. Would hate to ruin your pretty dress."

Gretchen rolled her eyes, but she didn't complain when Cassie pulled her dress down and gave special attention to her nipples for a while, before untying the ribbon around her waist and carefully placing the dress on the rack. Gretchen took the opportunity to get up and undress her wife as well.

"Oh no, it seems like your skirt just fell off, what a tragedy." she said, trying to deadpan, but falling into drunken giggles. "Your buttons seem to be undoing themselves, too - I didn't know they could be conscious enough to appreciate your great tits, and how I should be seeing them."

Cassie laughed, and that caught her off guard enough to get pushed back to an armchair.

"Not the bed?"

"Come on,  _ something's _ gotta be remarkable." Gretchen straddled her wife's lap. "What do you propose?" she asked, before kissing her all over.

"Hmmm… Fuck on the boat?"

"Shit, that'd be a good idea if we weren't already naked."

"Why didn't we think about this  _ before _ the alcohol…"

"How many times have we asked ourselves that, huh, love?"

Cassie scoffed, and pulled Gretchen closer. She looked up at her through her eyelashes, and kissed her abs, stroking her back and butt. Gretchen lost her hands in her hair, lost herself in the feeling of her wife's warm lips and warm hands against her body.

"Fuck, Cass, I-"

"Shush." she cut her off. "Bed."

Gretchen raised her eyebrows and smirked, but did as Cass told her.

Or tried to, at least. As soon as she got up from her lap, Cass tackled her into the bed, and they both giggled.

"Gods, I love you so much." Gretchen told her amidst the giggling.

Cassie, her arms around Gretchen's waist and her hips encircled by her wife's legs, briefly melted.

"I love you, too." she whispered. Then, she seemed to get an idea.

"Where's that ribbon from your dress?"

"Uuuuhh, somewhere at the foot of the bed?"

"Do you want it around your wrists or your eyes?"

Gretchen bit her lip. "Ladies' choice."

Cassie chose eyes.

───── ⋆⋅🔆🌙⋅⋆ ─────

She didn't know what time it was when she woke up the next morning - sore, dazed, and with the tiniest headache - but she knew that the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the sleeping face of her wife, the sunlight bouncing off of her skin and reflecting through the blue pendant she now wore on her neck. 

Gods, she was beautiful. She was going to be beautiful for all eternity, and Gretchen was  _ so _ lucky to be with her for just as long.

A new day started, and their new life was beginning. The noise of people outside made her think that maybe, they should get up. But they had just gotten married, and a new adventure was about to begin; surely, they deserved to sleep in, just this one time.


End file.
